


Never Let Go

by ChristinaH123



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Titanic (1997)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 00:24:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8945254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristinaH123/pseuds/ChristinaH123
Summary: Instead of Jack and Rose, what if it was Jack Kelly and David Jacobs?
Jack Kelly, a young English Newsboys, was lucky to have friends who cared about him enough to get together and win him the chance of a lifetime. Somehow, they had been able to get him a one way ticket to New York on the RMS Titanic. On that ship, he has the delight of meeting David Jacobs. Davey, although high class, did not like how he had to act in order to maintain his social status.Will Jack change Davey for the better? Or will the sinking of the ship get in the way of their relationship for the worse?





	1. The Ticket

The streets of London, lit dimly by the dull street lights, was finally quieting down after a long day of me and women of all ages and statuses running around the streets. Silence filled the corners as families and friends quietly made their way back to their respective homes for a nice long rest. The only sound was coming from a small and run down building that was almost invisible to anyone walking by. A small and faded sign that hung above the door said ‘Newsboys Lodging House’. Inside that building housed the local newsboys, ranging between the ages of 5 to 17.

  
Excited chattering filled the house as the sun was setting. Jack Kelly, the leader of the group, rolled his eyes for the fifth time in the past twenty minutes. A small and worn down sketchbook was laying open on his lap as he continued to work on his latest drawing. Finally having enough of the loud talking, Jack jumped up and walked towards the rest of the group. “Do you know what time it is? You all should be asleep by now!” Jack cried out and looked over the group. As Jack was about to go back to his bed, Jack stopped short and looked back at them. His eyes scanned over all the quieted faces before stopping and sighing. “Where is Race?” No one replied. A few of the younger children simply let out little giggles before hiding their faces.

  
“I am going to ask one more time. Where is Racetrack Higgins?” Jack crossed his arms and looked between two of the older Newsboys, Spot and Crutchie. Crutchie looked like he was about to speak up before Spot slapped a hand over his mouth and shook his head. Jack shook his head before glaring down at the boys. “Let me guess. He is at a poker game again. Isn’t he?” When no one answered, Jack took that as a simple yes. Sighing loudly, Jack makes his way to his bed and grabs his coat. “Of course he is.” Just as Jack starts heading towards the door, Race runs into the room smiling. Everyone rushes over to Race with some kids even knocking into Jack. Jack stares at them confused before glaring at Race. One of the younger boys, Mush, tugged on Races pant leg and stared up at him.

  
“Did you get it?” Mush muttered out quietly. Without another word, a big smile graced Races face and he nodded to all the boys in the room. A loud cheer sounded the room as everyone started chattering loudly. With another roll of the eyes, Jack loudly called out for everyone to quiet down. Once the talking died down, Jack made his way over to Race. “What is going on Race? This better not be another one of your ideas that ends up getting us in trouble.” Jack muttered looking at Race sternly. Race shook his head and smiled at Jack. “Nope! We are all in on this though.” Little giggles and chuckles filled the room as Jack looked around confused.

  
“Wha- What do you mean? I am not in on this. I don’t even know what is going on!” Race chuckled before pulling Jack to the center of the room. Looking around, Race pulled Crutchie, Specs and Spot over. Pushing them in front of him, Crutchie smiled over at Jack. “You worked so hard on getting into even just the smallest art classes. And, we know about the stash of money under your bed along with that New York pamphlet.” Spot cut Crutchie off before starting to speak. “And, we know that you have been trying to figure out if it is possible for you to get there. So, we all pulled our money together.” Jack stared at them wide eyed. He knew how expensive a ferry would be. Shaking his head, Jack could barely speak. A small sound came out of his mouth before Race stepped forward with a small piece of paper in his hand. “Some buddies of mine told me about a game tonight. Some posh business man was betting everything he had. And, well… With the help of these guys, I managed to win exactly what I wanted.”

  
Jack carefully took the paper and read the words aloud. “Launch of White Star Line… Titanic… I-I can’t accept this.” Jack tried handing the paper back, but everyone backed away. “You guys.. This is too much..” Specs simply shook his head. “You deserve it. You deserve more than what you have here. There is a little extra money there for you to get a place and maybe even go to school down there.” Jacked looked around and seen all the encouraging smiles and gave them all a teary eyed smile. “I guess… I guess I am going to New York..” With one loud cheer, Jack brought them all in for a large hug.


	2. Boarding

Jack looked up ahead of him at the large cruise ship. In his overalls and cap, Jack felt so out of place. The tickets, expensive as they were, were not something anyone in his social class would be able to afford. Heck, even he didn’t have to pay! The only reason he was able to go was because Race won him his ticket without even telling him. Jack clutched his tiny suitcase behind him before turning to face the rest of the boys that came to see him off.

“Well, I guess this is it.” Jack muttered and kicked at a few pebbles under his feet. “You go have fun Jack. You deserve it. Everything is all paid for, so you just need to worry about relaxing.” Crutchie said and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Jack nodded and chuckled. “Come on Jack. This is what you have been dreaming of for years. Why don’t you get going? We will see you soon.” Jack chuckled and shook his head before giving all the boys a small smile. “Well.. Here I go..” Jack sighed out before turning around and looking at the large ship in front of him.

Jack ignored the looks he got from some of the other families as he handed the man his ticket. After he made sure it was valid, which took longer than everyone else, Jack was finally allowed to board the ship. Rushing to put his small suitcase in his single room, Jack rushed back to the front of the boat and waved over to his friends. Jack stayed there staring over the rail until his friends were just dots in the distance. Sighing, Jack smiled and went to head back to his room to get his art supplies, only to bump into a very tall boy. Stumbling, Jack looked up ready to yell at the boy.

“I am so sorry!” The boy muttered and made an effort to keep Jack on his feet. Jack stared at him confused for a moment before shaking his head. “Just watch where you are going next time.” Jack muttered and started to walk away. “I’m David!” The other boy blurted out. Jack looked back at him and chuckled. “Well, nice to meet you David.” Jack said and walked back towards him. Jack put out his hand for David to shake and gave him a small smirk. “The names Jack Kelly.” David gave him an awkward smile before shaking his hand. Their hands lingered for a moment before a voice was calling out behind David.

“David! Come on! Mum wants us to go get ready for supper. We are meeting the DeLancey’s in an hour!” A young girl in a pink dress called out before dragging an even smaller boy behind her. David let go of Jacks hand slowly and sighed. “I should… Yeah..” David muttered and turned to walk away. David almost bumped into another man as he walked backwards before turning around and almost running off. Jack chuckled as he returned back to his own cabin to get his art supplies. The meeting, still fresh on his mind, made Jack smile. If he were to bump into David again, maybe this ship would be more exciting than he otherwise thought.

As the sun began to set, Jack made his way to the deck and sat on an isolated chair in the corner. Sighing at the peacefulness, Jack started sketching absentmindedly. Hours passed as families finished their own dinners and socializing before they all headed back to their rooms to retire for the night. The lights dimmed down causing the drawing in front of him to barely have any light. Packing up his things, Jack heard a small voice call out as another older one called out after him. “Don’t run off Les!” Jack watched as the boy he had just met a few hours before chased after, who Jack assumed to be, his younger brother.

Jack smiled lightly as he watched the two interact. Getting up, Jack stared in front of him as David was walking with his family. David, sensing someone was following them, pushed Les in front of him and looked back. After seeing it was the boy that he had met, David slightly relaxed and smiled back at him. Jack raised his hand in greeting before giving David a small wink and turning into his own room for the night. David turned back around with a small and foreign real smile gracing his lips.


	3. Social Status

The next day, Jack woke up a little earlier than he had imagined. The sun was still low in the sky, causing a purple and orange glow to fill his small cabin. Jack, wanting to explore the ship as much as possible, leapt out of bed to prepare for the day. Looking through his clothes, Jack pulled out his best looking clothes and took a quick refreshing shower. Before leaving the room, Jack grabbed a pocket size sketchbook and quickly shoved it into his pocket.

On the other side of the ship, David stood in his large single room slowly getting ready and dreading actually going out into the ship. A tie hung untied over his shoulders as he stared into the mirror. Running a hand through his hair, David tried to straighten out his still damp hair. Just as David was starting to tie his tie, a soft knock came at the door. “David?” A small voice called out. David opened up his door to see his little brother shuffling on the other side.

“Mum told me to ask you for help with my tie.” Les muttered holding out a smaller tie. David smiled down at him and kneeled down in front of Les. His hands moved quickly as he secured the tie around his little brothers neck. “Did mum tell you who we were meeting up with for brunch?” Les looked up for a moment before nodding lightly. “Mum said that Papa is trying to make a deal with the DeLancey’s again. So, we are having brunch with them.”

David let out a low groan before bowing his head down. Lightly tapping Les’ chest, David stood up fully. “That’s not for another few hours though. Tell mum I will be back in time, but I want to explore the ship for a little while.” Les nodded before quickly running off to relay the message. David quickly fixed his tie and threw a tight vest over it before walking out the door.

David had just about checked all the important spots he would need to know when he finally reached the upper deck. There were only a few families milling about and walking to where ever they needed to be at this time of day. David sighed at the peacefulness and leaned against the railing to look out into the ocean. Feeling a presence next to him, David looked over to see the boy he met the previous day.

“Nice day today, isn’t it.” Jack muttered staring into the ocean. Davey didn’t respond. Instead, David took a small step to the left and looked around. Noticing no one was around, David turned to Jack. “Are you following me?” He asked. Jack let out a small chuckle before shaking his head. “Hey, kid. Don’t think too much over it. I noticed you looked lonely. So, I decided to give you some company.” David rolled his eyes and glared over at Jack. “Don’t call me a kid! I don’t even know you.” David muttered and went to walk away before Jack stopped him.

“Come on David. You don’t seem to be busy. Stay and talk a little?” David shook his head and fixed his posture so he was a few inches over Jacks height. “If my mum or father seen me talking to you, I would be in so much trouble. I have a status to maintain.” Jack dropped his mouth open at David’s words. “Oh. Right. Social status and all that, right?” David gave him a small nod before turning to look away. Jack sighed and took a step away from Davey. Jack nodded and sighed. An air of uneasiness surrounded them before David spoke quietly. “It’s not my choice. My parents are highly respectable in the community. I have to follow their rules to keep the status.” Jack looked over at David with understanding.

“Everyone can make their own choices David. Your family may be important to you, but how would you feel if you were forced to keep this act up for the rest of your life?” David looked down at the ground, more confused than ever. Without another word, Jack gave a small salute to David before slowly walking away.


	4. Cool Air

As David stood there wondering what just happened, he felt a slender arm loop around his. “Come on big brother. Mum is waiting for us.” David sent her a nod and frowned a little. “Do I have to go?” A small laugh escaped his little sister’s throat as she sadly nodded at him. “I know that you don’t like them.. But, this business deal is important to daddy. If he gets it, we will be able to stay in New York longer and then you won’t have to see them as much!” David smiled at her words and sighed in relief. “You always know what to say.” Sarah smiled and patted David’s arm before leading him into the dining hall where they met up with his parents.

“There they are now!” His mom said. Sarah slowly sat down in an empty chair as David approached him mom. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek before sitting down next to Sarah and Oscar Delancey. A chuckle was heard from one of the brothers as he sat down. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sarah give him a small nod, to which he nodded back. Before tucking into their food, they quickly said grace and made small talk amongst them.

For once, brunch was actually going smooth. David listened to Les talk about what he had learned about New York for a little. Then, when Les got distracted, Sarah went on and on about this guy she had met on the deck. About half way done with their food, David felt a nudge from the left. Looking over, he saw Oscar and Morris laughing. David tried all he could to ignore it, but the nudging kept happening. Sighing, David turned his attention to them and gave them a small glare.

“Hey Oscar, you know what I heard?” Morris said laughing and clapping his brother on the shoulder. “What did you hear dear brother?” “I heard that a certain Jacobs sibling was seen flirting with that low life on the deck earlier this morning.” David felt his breathe catch in his throat. He had been so careful to not let anyone see him being near Jack. There wasn’t even anyone around him that he knew! How could they have possibly found out? David, feeling a little sweat collecting on his forehead, tugged lightly at the tie around his neck. “Did you now? Why, if that news were to get out it would ruin their reputation! Better not let anyone hear you say it!” The Morris brothers broke out in laughter and Oscar clapped David sharply on the shoulder.

“I need some air..” David muttered to Sarah and promptly stood up and headed outside. He heard Sarah calling for him, but ignored her as he made his way out. As soon as David felt the cool air on his flushed cheeks, he sighed in relief. As he allowed the air to cool him off, he didn’t pay attention to how far away from the diner that he was. Looking back, he could barely even see the dining area.

“Looks like someone is running from their life.” A voice called from behind him. Turning around, David seen Jack leaning against the railing without a care in the world. David let out a humorless chuckle. “What makes you think that?” David muttered and crossed his arms across his chest. Jack smirked and copied David’s pose. “Well. You have been fidgeting with your already messed up tie. Your shirt is slightly untucked and you all but ran away from the dining area.” David opened his mouth to talk but quickly shut it knowing that Jack was completely right. Oscar and Morris’ words came flowing back causing David to take a cautious step back.

“I wouldn’t expect a commoner to know anything about my life.” Jack could help but laugh at David’s words. “I know more about you than you think. You are tired of the way you have to act. You feel so lonely because all your ‘friends’ are only that because of your status.” Jack took small steps closer to David as he talked, until he was right in front of him. Looking up at David, Jack continued. “You want out. You wish you could run around all careless and have fun for once.” Jack placed his hand on David’s elbow and allowed it to travel down to gently caress the back of David’s hand. David, who had gone completely still, snapped away from Jack and stared at him in shock causing Jack to chuckle. “If you decide you would want that, you know where to find me Davey.” Jack turned and walk away into the shadows leaving David speechless.


End file.
